Article Intended For
VM Hosting customers who want to know more about the settings available when creating a VM.
Introduction
This article describes the controls available in the CREATE INSTANCE interface when creating a VM (for example, see KB0015193, Create a VM). This article is not an exhaustive reference. For additional assistance, contact us at Support@vmhost.psu.edu.
For additional articles and information about the VM Hosting service, see KB0015140, Getting Started with VM Hosting.
Article Body
This article is organized based on the tabs in the CREATE INSTANCE screen of the VM Hosting portal. Click the name of a tab to jump the corresponding section of this article:
TYPE
On the TYPE tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen, select the type of VM to create.
GROUP
The Group tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
GROUP
Select the appropriate UMG. (For more information about managing VM access with UMGs, see KB0015263, Manage Your VM Users with User-managed Groups (UMGs).)
NAME
Enter a name for the VM. Consider the following:
- Please do not include spaces or special characters; they can cause problems.
- It's a good idea to include your unit's assigned, 2-character EAD prefix.
- VM names should be unique within the first 15 characters. For example, the following would not be good names because they are the same until the 21st character:
- d7.my20charbasename-1
- d7.my20charbasename-2
ENVIRONMENT TAG
Add metadata for reference. This metadata does not affect how the VM functions and can be changed at any time.
LABELS
Add metadata for reference. This metadata does not affect how the VM functions and can be changed at any time.
CONFIGURATION
The CONFIGURATION tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
VERSION
(Not available for some VMs)
Select from among the available versions of the chosen OS.
LAYOUT
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
PLAN
Specify the number of CPUs and amount of RAM.
Choose a preset configuration, or select Custom VM Hosting and then specify values for CORE COUNT, CORES PER SOCKET, and MEMORY.
RESOURCE POOL
Generally, it's best to leave the default value. If you specify a zone (A or B), make sure you select the corresponding Datastore option.
VOLUMES
Specify the number of drives as well as the name, amount of storage, and Datastore for each. The maximum amount of storage for a VM (or for any individual drive) is 2 TB.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to add a drive. Click the trash can icon () to remove a drive.
CORE COUNT
(Only available when Custom VM Hosting is chosen in PLAN)
Specify the number of cores. The maximum number of cores for a VM is 8.
CORES PER SOCKET
(Only available when Custom VM Hosting is chosen in PLAN)
Specify the arrangement of the cores. For example, if you specify 6 cores and 3 cores per socket, your VM will have 2 sockets that contain 3 cores each (6 cores / 3 cores per socket = 2 sockets).
MEMORY
(Only available when Custom VM Hosting is chosen in PLAN)
Specify the amount of RAM. The maximum amount of RAM for a VM is 32 GB.
NETWORKS
Select the appropriate network:
- VM Hosting Private -- (Recommended) Allows access from University networks only, or via a University VPN.
- VM Hosting Public -- Allows your VM to be accessed from outside of the University's IP spaces. (For example, a public website may need to be accessible by devices outside of the PSU network.)
We recommend VM Hosting Private unless your VM will need to be accessed from outside of the University IP spaces. Network settings can also be modified after the VM is created by submitting a support ticket.
To use a VLAN that is specific to your department or unit, choose one of the above options when you create the VM, then submit a request via our ServiceNow form.
ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD
(Only available for Windows VMs)
Specify the initial administrative password for the VM. (The initial administrative username is Administrator.)
FOLDER
Ignore, unless you have a specific reason to change it. For the vast majority of users, "Hosted-New" is the only option and is selected by default.
USER GROUP
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
HOSTNAME
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
DOMAIN
Select an available domain to join the VM to:
- vmhost.psu.edu
- D7 - VMHosting (ad.psu.edu)
- or another OU associated with your account (For more information, see KB0015264, Join Your VMs to Enterprise Active Directory (EAD).)
NOTE: We recommend that you do not select localdomain - Default Domain. If this option is chosen, the VM's IP address will not be registered in DNS.
If you leave Use Default selected, vmhost.psu.edu will be used.
TIME ZONE
The recommended setting is Use Default, which will implement US/Eastern as the time zone. Change this setting only if you have a specific need to.
PORTS
Ignore. This control is not currently utilized.
SKIP AGENT INSTALL
Ignore. Checking this box causes numerous problems, so please leave it unchecked.
ASSET TAG
Set the asset tag on the SMBIOS for use by the guest operating system. This can be useful, for example, if you use scripting to poll and inventory your VMs. If left blank, the name of the virtual machine will be used.
ENABLE NESTED VIRTUALIZATION
Ignore. This option is not recommended.
TAGS
Add metadata with which to sort and filter VMs in the portal. For example, suppose you are creating several VMs and would like to be able to sort them by department. As you create each VM, enter Department in Name and enter the department (e.g., Accounting) in Value.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to apply an additional tag. Click the trash can icon () to remove a tag.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
Add or modify the environmental variables for the VM's operating system. You can also modify the environmental variables after the VM is created.
Click the plus sign (+) on the right to apply an additional environmental variable. Click the trash can icon () to remove one.
AUTOMATION
The AUTOMATION tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen includes the following options.
WORKFLOW
Ignore. The correct workflow will be applied automatically. This control may be removed in a future update.
POWER SCHEDULE
Ignore. This control doesn't do anything and may be removed in a future update.
SHUTDOWN DAYS
Use to automatically shut down the VM after the specified number of days.
EXPIRATION DAYS
Use to automatically delete the VM after the specified number of days.
REVIEW
On the REVIEW tab of the CREATE INSTANCE screen, review your settings.
This tab also includes the following options.
COPIES
Specify the number of VMs to create with the specified settings.